Monday, April 27, 2009

If you have enLightened a life, raise your hand!

I would like to welcome everyone to my enLightened Life blog! Thanks for stopping by, and you're welcome anytime! I am an advocate for living a positive, healthy, organized, and enjoyable life, frugally. Living this way, to anyone who knows me, is no secret. I share my knowledge with everyone I can, so that they too can live an enLightened life.

So here's something that has been on my mind, and I will consider this my enLightened tip of the day...

One thing that drives me crazy is when people say 'Oh, I'm too busy to take care of myself', or 'Oh, I put everyone else before my needs'. Come on! Really?! Look people, if you can't (or won't) take time to take care of yourself, how on earth are you going to take care of anyone else? You HAVE to take time for yourself, and you HAVE to put yourself first. Believe me, I'm as busy, if not busier, than most of you reading this. I work a full time job, and a part time job, and own a home, and do all of the cooking and cleaning and washing and bills... yeah I could go on, but I'll spare you. We're all in the same boat here.

One thing I do to 'pamper' myself EVERY DAY is get up 20 minutes earlier than I normally would, and exercise. That's right, people, exercise. And since summer is approaching, I enjoy going outside early in the morning to walk or run. The breeze is cool, it's quiet, and I'm doing something right for my body. I invest time in pampering myself, and exercise is pampering, believe it or not. I invest time in my body. I put my health first. This, to me, is pampering. Oh, did I mention that it costs NOTHING? I've heard that for every $ in prevention is $80 saved in treatment costs. I think Jillian Michaels said that in one of her radio shows. I consider this a no-brainer... a FREE way to prevent having to treat illnesses down the road! It's so simple. The moral of the story? Pamper yourself with a cardio exercise you enjoy! Break a sweat! Just 20 minutes of exercise will release endorphins that will make you feel good all day.